


Fair Judgement

by CactusPot



Category: Total Drama (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Romance, for plot purposes the OG cast are seniors and the ROTI cast are juniors, originally was gonna be a oneshot but it got long so i decided to break it into chunks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:01:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25871758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CactusPot/pseuds/CactusPot
Summary: "What kind of deviant actually lands themself in juvie? Like, get a hobby.”Her careless words ripped through him like bullets. Duncan’s smile faltered and his stomach dropped.----After meeting in art class, Zoey and Duncan immediately hit it off. Although they apparently share an interest in tiny wooden skulls, their differences may run deeper than anticipated.
Relationships: Duncan/Zoey (Total Drama), Jo/Brick McArthur
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	1. Part I

Zoey met him on the first day of her junior year, in fourth-period ceramics class. Without a seating chart to guide her, she chose a seat in the very back, at a table with only one other occupant. First mission: befriend the boy with the green mohawk.

She set down her strawberry-patterned backpack on the empty stool between them. “Hi.” She offered him a smile. “I’m Zoey.”

His blue eyes looked her up and down. “Duncan.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Zoey would’ve been satisfied if not for the deadpan in which he delivered the response.

“What grade are you in?” Usually, only freshmen took entry-level art classes.

“Senior.”

Still not a satisfying response. Zoey searched for a better question to spark conversation.

“Are you excited for this class?” she asked. “I took photography last year, and I’ve been dying to try out a 3D medium.”

Duncan didn’t acknowledge her question. “Cool.”

Zoey decided she’d try again later. But aside from the occasional glance in her direction or a half-hearted greeting, they didn’t talk again.

Until a week later, when Zoey and Duncan had their first actual conversation. 

Zoey had rolled slab for the first assignment of the year: designing and sculpting a piggy bank. Hers would be unique, as Zoey had decided to create a mer-piggy: part fish, part pig. She overlaid a scale-patterned rubber stamp over her clay and took to it with a rolling pin. While she worked, she looked over at Duncan. As usual, he had shoved his earbuds so far into his ears that Zoey was half-certain he’d burst an eardrum by the end of the year.

Most notably, though, Duncan wasn’t working on the piggy project. Instead, he whittled a block of wood, his tool of choice being a beat-up pocket knife.

He stopped working to pick up his phone, presumably to adjust his playlist.

“Duncan?” 

Her address failed to overtake the music in his ears.

“Duncan?” Zoey tried again, louder this time.

This time, Duncan heard. He looked up, unibrow raised, and pulled an earbud out. “What’s up, sweetheart?”

The casual term of endearment caught Zoey off guard, and she nearly blushed. Nearly.

“Um, I don’t mean to pry,” she said as she continued to roll, “but why’d you sign up for a ceramics class if you’re not even going to do the work? No offense,” she added hastily, “I was just wondering.”

Twiddling the knife between his fingers, Duncan smiled wryly. “Needed a few electives to fill out my schedule. I figured a sculpting class is the only thing that remotely caters to my interests. If only they hadn’t shut down that lockpicking class, heh.”

“Interests? Wood carving is a hobby for you?”

“Yep.” After several beats, Duncan elaborated, “It’s more of a stress relief than anything else. And here’s the only place I have a _remote_ chance of turning carvings into passing grades.”

His logic checked out to Zoey. “Can I see some?” 

If Duncan’s wide eyes were any indication, the question had caught him off guard. “Some of my wood carvings?”

“Yeah. If you don’t mind, that is.” Zoey’s goal here was friendship, after all, not invading her tablemate’s privacy.

Duncan turned away from her. His gaze refocused on his woodblock as he resumed cutting. “It’s not like I post photos of my carvings on Insta or whatever,” he scoffed. “It’s just a hobby.”

“Oh.” Zoey finished rolling her pattern and peeled off the rubber stamp. They worked the rest of the class in silence. 

The next day, though, Duncan slunk into ceramics late. Zoey forwent a greeting, just in case yesterday’s questions had offended him. 

“Hey. Red.”

Zoey glanced up at Duncan.

“Catch.”

A small brown object arced through the air and into her open hands. Zoey turned it over, “it” being a small carved skull.

“Wow,” she breathed, tracing her fingers along the nicks in the wood, “you made this?”

“Nah,” Duncan drawled, “I stole it out of the neighbor’s trash on the way to school.”

“Dumpster diving is _so_ tacky,” Zoey commented off-hand while she examined the carving. She looked up from the skull to its maker. “This is amazing.”

Duncan shifted in his seat, a smiling tugging at his lips. “I got some more, if you wanna see.”

“Yes, please!”

The mer-piggy bank project fell to the wayside; instead of working on her actual graded assignment, Zoey spent the next ten minutes looking at Duncan's assortment of carvings. With the exception of a few wooden birds or fish, skulls comprised the majority of the trinkets.

“Duncan, you’re so talented!” Zoey held up an oblong skull.

“I like to think my talents lie in cooler places than _whittling_ ,” Duncan answered dryly. He propped his chin in his palm as he watched Zoey.

“How could this not be cool? You could sell this stuff on Otsy! There’s a market for cute skull decor,” Zoey insisted.

“You lost me at ‘cute.’ No, you lost me at ‘Otsy.’ My stuff ain’t cute.”

Men and their insecure masculinity; Zoey rolled her eyes. “Okay, Mr. Macho. These are not cute. They’re wicked. And wicked merchandise makes wicked cash.”

Duncan smirked. “Now you’re speaking my language. And hey, you can be my first customer. Have a skull on the house.”

“You’d let me keep one? _Really_?”

“Yeah, whatever. It’s not like I’m attached to them or anything.” He waved a hand. “Pick whatever you want, Red.”

Zoey looked over all the skulls. “Hey, what’s with the ‘Red’ thing, anyways?”

He answered immediately. “Red hair. Boom, instant nickname.”

“So by that logic, I should be calling you Green?”

“You could, but Green just doesn’t flow as well.”

Zoey picked up the first skull, the one with various nicks and notches. “I see your point. I’ll keep calling you Duncan, okay?”

“Fine with me,” Duncan shrugged.

Even though she had picked out the skull she’d be keeping, Zoey continued looking over the other options. She just appreciated the varying uniformity of Duncan’s creations.

“So are you just gonna stare at my skulls all day?” Duncan asked after another few minutes.

Zoey flinched at the sudden words. “Oh. Um, sorry. You can have them back now.”

“Relax, Red.” Duncan smiled lazily as he swept his creations into his battered bookbag. “I’m not gonna bite your head off.”

“You kinda just did,” Zoey pointed out.

“Did I? My bad. Usually I reserve the head-biting-off for jerks, not pretty girls.”

This time, Zoey actually colored. “Is that a pick-up line?”

He smiled. “Less of a pick-up line and more of an honest observation.”

“Well, thanks for that honest observation.”

“No sweat.”

* * *

Talking to Zoey was, in Duncan’s perspective, fun. Not exhilarating, not electric, just plain old innocent fun, a refreshing change from the past few years.

They talked every day in ceramics now. Usually, Zoey would start up a conversation, but on days she didn’t, Duncan found himself dropping a harmless quip to get her going.

Like today, for instance, Zoey’s focus lay on her hollow clay pig. Instead of sculpting clay or whittling wood, Duncan watched her work; sometimes Zoey’d wipe her brow with the back of her hand, and flecks of clay would settle themselves onto her forehead. Her accidental messiness amused Duncan.

“So, Red, what’s your favorite movie?”

She glanced up at him. “ _Total Action 2_.”

“Really? You’re into action?”

“Yeah. Are you not?” Zoey’s mouth quirked up in a smile.

“I can appreciate a good action movie,” Duncan conceded, “but I’m more of a horror fan than anything else.”

“Now _that_ does not surprise me. What’s your favorite flick, then?”

“ _Bloodbath 2: Summer Camp Reign of Terror_. Your hair reminds me of it, actually.”

“My _hair_?” Zoey giggled. “How can my _hair_ remind you of a horror movie?”

“Easy,” Duncan answered. “It’s the same shade of red as the cheerleader chick’s blood.”

“Duncan! Ew!” Zoey shuddered.

“Squeamish?” He smiled.

“Not really. I can stomach horror movies, but _not_ when guys unironically use the word chick.”

Duncan was pretty sure he’d had this exact conversation with his most recent ex. “Oh, you’re one of _those_ girls. Why do so many chicks hate the word chick?”

“Maybe because it’s degrading?” Zoey suggested as she smoothed the seams of her pig’s ears.

“Oh yeah? Well, I don’t get degraded when girls call me ‘dude’ or ‘guy.’”

“That’s different,” Zoey said. 

Those two words launched a class-long debate on misogynistic language. Unlike Duncan’s raging ex, the CIT-who-must-not-be-named, Zoey remained patient while explaining herself. Down came Duncan’s defenses, and by the time the bell rang, he had been mostly convinced.

“Alright,” he said, slinging his bag over one shoulder, “I promise I’ll avoid using the word ‘chick’.”

“Rad.” Duncan had expected to find traces of ‘I’m-always-right’ smugness in Zoey’s beam, but her expression appeared genuine and earnest. “I’m glad I got through to you.”

They walked out of the classroom; Zoey turned left, in the direction of the school courtyard, and Duncan followed her.

“Although,” he added, “I think there’s a more pressing concern right now.”

“What’s that?” Zoey raised an eyebrow.

“You haven’t seen _Bloodbath 2_! You gotta promise you’ll watch it with me.”

“Is the movie really that good?”

“Definitely.” Duncan’s eyes lit up. “You haven’t seen horror until you’ve seen _Bloodbath 2_.”

“Well if that’s the case, I promise I’ll watch it with you.”

“Sweet. Let me know when you’re free.”

“Does Saturday work?” Zoey asked immediately.

He had expected her to be busy, a social butterfly with a crammed calendar. “Really? You don’t have some indie concert to sneak off to?”

Zoey tugged on a pigtail. “Nah. My friends aren’t really the indie type.”

“Ah. Well, in that case, Saturday night works.”

“Cool. See ya tomorrow, Duncan.” 

As Zoey waved farewell, Duncan realized he had forgotten something very important.

“Wait!” After Zoey turned around, he added, “I don’t have your number, Red. How’m I supposed to give you my address?”

Zoey fished her phone out of her pocket. “You know you could’ve just asked for my number in class tomorrow, right?”

Duncan typed in his number and his name in all lowercase. “Yeah, but what if I need to contact you ASAP? Like the cops arrest me tonight and I need you to bail me out?”

“No way would you sink to _that_ level of decadence.” Zoey rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling, so Duncan assumed she was joking.

He smirked. “You woefully underestimate me.”

Zoey laughed and took her phone back. “You’re hilarious! I’ll text you later. Bye, Duncan!”

“Seeya around,” he said nonchalantly. Duncan wasn’t one to look back, but today he did and watched her pigtails bounce as she entered the courtyard.

Zoey texted him that evening, a simple “guess who?” accompanied by several corny flower emojis.

Lately, Ma had been gung-ho on Duncan helping around the house—something about building character or whatever. He could hardly blame her, given his track record. Heck, the last time he had been at home for longer than a month was a year and a half ago.

So Duncan texted Zoey with one hand and folded laundry with the other, sent memes with one hand and took out the trash with the other, recommended songs with one hand and emptied the dishwasher with the other. 

Then he broke one of Ma’s favorite plates, and she confiscated his phone for the night. Again, he could hardly blame her, but the situation still bit. Especially since he still technically hadn’t gotten permission to invite Zoey over for the movie viewing. The only other option was inviting himself to Zoey’s house, but Duncan exclusively mooched off worthless saps, not kinda-cool people like Red.

Solution? Duncan slunk out the window, cut a bunch of hydrangeas from the neighbor’s garden, and waltzed into his mother’s room like he owned the place.

“Hey, Ma. I’m sorry I broke the plate.” Duncan held out the bouquet.

She took the peace offering and sighed. “Did you cut these from the Elliots’ yard?”

“Aw, Ma, they have so many,” Duncan replied sweetly. “And even if they _did_ notice a few missing flowers, they’d agree the prettiest flowers deserve to go to the prettiest woman on the block.”

His words worked their magic, and his mother smiled in resignation. “What am I going to do with you, Duncan?”

“Funny you should mention it.” Duncan straightened up; his mom _loved_ when he actually paid attention to his posture. “See, I was wondering if I could have a friend over on Saturday?”

“Depends on who the friend is.”

“No one you know,” Duncan replied. “I only met her at the beginning of the school year.”

“Her?” Ma raised an eyebrow. “This isn’t-”

“Chill, Ma. This ain’t an excuse for a make-out session, I swear.” Duncan tilted his head. “Zoey just hasn’t seen the best movie on the planet, and I wanted to show it to her.”

Seeing the flowers and charm hadn’t completely won his mother over, he added, “She’s a _really_ good influence, I swear.”

“Isn’t that what you said about Court—”

“This is different!” Duncan broke in. “Heck, you can even watch _Bloodbath 2_ with us if you’re so concerned!”

His mom made a face, and Duncan knew he’d won the battle. “I don’t need to be around for that. You can bring your friend over. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt, especially since you’ve been so good since school started.”

“So good” in Ma’s eyes meant no calls from the station in the dead of night. Make no mistake, Duncan had still defaced plenty of trees since he had met Zoey. Nowadays, he kept his acts of rebellion inconsequential and untraceable, because, in truth, he was just as tired of returning to juvie as his parents were of sending him.

“Thanks, Ma.” Duncan pecked her cheek. “You’re the best.”

“I try,” his mother said as Duncan sauntered out of the room.

A few days later, on the last Saturday night of September, Zoey arrived at Duncan’s house in a beat-up station wagon. 

“Nice ride.” Duncan leaned in his doorway, watching her walk up the front path.

“My parents got it for me as an early birthday present,” Zoey explained. She ducked underneath him and stepped inside. “Wow, this is a really nice house!”

Ma, being Ma, had tidied it up after lunch, and for once Duncan and his brothers hadn’t wrecked it again. He smirked. “Thanks. I bought it myself.”

Anxious to watch his all-time favorite movie, Duncan whisked her into the living room. They sat down on the couch, divided by the bowl of popcorn Duncan had successfully managed to avoid burning.

True to her word, Zoey didn’t freak out over the copious amounts of bloodshed. As soon as the movie was over, though, she struck up a conversation about the cinematography. Did Duncan understand any of the jargon she threw his way? No. But he nodded along, giving his own input on the special effects.

The hour grew late, a fact Duncan only realized when his dad returned home from work, grunted a hello, and disappeared upstairs.

“He seems friendly,” Zoey commented after he had disappeared from view.

“Eh. Coming home to your delinquent child after working a swing shift at the station will put you in a grumpy mood.” Duncan’s hand scraped the bottom of the popcorn bowl, but only a few kernels remained. 

“Swing shift?” Zoey echoed. She checked her phone. “It’s almost midnight! I didn’t realize it was so late.”

Duncan chewed the kernels. “Yeah, that happens when you watch the greatest horror movie of all time.”

“I hope I’m not intruding.” Zoey tugged on her pigtail. “Am I intruding?”

“Nah.” Duncan shrugged. “If you weren’t here, I’d be cyber trolling some dweebs right now. Tell ‘em coding is a waste of time, and they go ballistic.”

“Give them a break!” Zoey protested lightheartedly. “I’m sure they work hard on their HTML projects.”

“And they work even harder at being huge _dorks_ ,” Duncan answered. He noticed Zoey’s small frown and relented, “Well they can code in peace tonight, at least, seeing as I’m hanging out with you.”

“Good,” Zoey said. She shifted on the couch so she faced him directly. “Y’know, I’ve been having fun. I didn’t expect us to become actual friends so quickly.”

Duncan nodded in agreement. “No kidding. Didn’t realize an artsy chick—girl! I mean girl—would be so interesting.”

“I can’t believe we never crossed paths until now.”

“Well, y’know I’m sorta a truant.” He laughed, and so did Zoey.

“I never would’ve guessed. You’ve been in class every day this year.”

He shrugged. “Only ‘cause ceramics is the one mildly interesting class.” That, added to the fact Ma and Pa were paying particularly close attention to his attendance.

“Yeah, ceramics is fun. Most guys wouldn’t appreciate the subtle intricacies of craftsmanship,” Zoey answered.

“The ‘subtle intricacies of craftsmanship?’” Duncan repeated incredulously. Zoey sure was funny. “Who are you, Rob Boss?”

“See! Most guys I grew up with wouldn’t know who Rob Boss is.”

Duncan only knew the guy because the officers at juvie had put on Rob Boss tutorials in the recreational hall. He didn’t mention that factoid. “What the heck kind of guys _did_ you grow up with?”

Zoey sighed and rolled her eyes. “Most of the kids I from my elementary school are hockey thugs and juvie rejects. Like, is there anything worse?”

Duncan cracked a teasing smile. “I dunno, actually being in juvie?”

Zoey missed the joke and nodded seriously. “True. What kind of deviant actually lands themself in juvie? Like, get a hobby.”

Her careless words ripped through him like bullets. Duncan’s smile faltered and his stomach dropped.

If it had been anyone else, he would’ve called them on it. Where did they get off, profiling everyone in juvie as a deviant? The stereotyping riled him, made his mohawk stand on edge.

But this was Zoey. Fun-to-talk-to Zoey who liked hanging out with him. Artsy Zoey who found his skulls fascinating. Pretty Zoey who—

Okay, she got a pass because she was cute. Maybe Duncan had an ongoing problem with pretty girls. Agh.

But the bottom line was, Duncan didn’t want to jeopardize this new friendship. For the first time in a while, he was having “positive interactions,” as Ma would phrase it, with someone who _didn’t_ drive him nuts. 

Juvie wasn’t the sort of thing you just casually brought up during the first hang-out, so who could blame him for failing to mention it earlier?

But after what Zoey had just said, how could he ever tell her now?


	2. Part II

Zoey’s phone lay face down on the table, and in the middle of ceramics class, it pinged incessantly with new messages.

“Someone’s popular,” Duncan remarked, nodding at it. For once, he had traded his wood carvings for actual clay and was sculpting a knife.

“Oh, let me get that.” She hurried over to the sinks, washed the clay off her hands, and returned to check her phone messages. The ‘Jarhead, Apology Brat, and Jo Mama’ group chat was in full swing planning an excursion. Zoey skimmed the details and texted back: “Can I bring a friend?” 

When she received an approval seconds later, Zoey looked up from her phone and smiled at Duncan.

“My friends and I are going to the fair next Friday. Wanna come with?”

Duncan furrowed his brow. “Dang, I missed the memo. There’s a fair here? In October?”

“Haven’t you been before?”

“I didn’t transfer here until last February, Red.”

Zoey blinked. “Huh.”

Before she could ask _why_ he had transferred in the middle of the school year, Duncan pressed on. “Anyways, back to the fair. What’s the deal with that?”

“It’s the annual school fundraiser. Pretty much a ‘welcome to autumn’ fest.”

“Huh.” Duncan mulled it over. “Well, as long as I get to vandalize some rides, I’m game.”

“Duncan!” Zoey swatted him.

“Kidding, obviously, heh.” He chuckled. “Which friends of yours are we going with?”

“Jo and Brick.”

Duncan smirked. “So I’m just another addition to your collection of guy pals? Harsh.”

“Jo’s a girl, dummy.” Zoey playfully kicked him under the table. Duncan winced.

“How was I supposed to know that?”

“Telepathy?”

“Hah, good one. I don’t suppose you like sci-fi movies, do you?”

“I _love_ the Star Warfares prequels, are you kidding me?”

“Okay, that’s _nerdy_ sci-fi. I meant the kind of sci-fi where the blood-sucking aliens invade earth and turn everyone against each other!”

“Can’t say it rings a bell. I guess that’ll be the next movie we watch.”

“How ‘bout we watch _Alien Chunks_ after the fair?” Duncan suggested. “It’s an obscure one, but it’s _so_ good.” Plus, it was due for a rewatch; Duncan hadn’t watched _Alien Chunks_ since his last juvie stint.

“Yeah, I’d be cool with that.” Her fingers paused over her phone. “Should we invite Jo and Brick too?” It was the cordial, considerate thing to do, even though she doubted either of her friends would enjoy a sci-fi flick.

“Nah,” Duncan answered. “This is a you and me thing, ya feel me?”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Zoey set her phone down and continued her clay molding, but not before she noticed the smile creeping up on Duncan’s face.

* * *

Zoey’s “I’m here :)” text summoned Duncan outside. He leaned in the rolled-down shotgun window.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey yourself.”

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Zoey rolled her eyes benignly. “Ready to go?”

Duncan slid into her passenger seat. “As I’ll ever be.”

Even though it bit that he was a senior without a driver’s license—being in and out of juvie meant no time to get the hours of practice in—the upside was that he got to look at Zoey while she kept her eyes on the road. 

Something had changed. Several days earlier, when he had declared their movie hangouts a “you and me thing,” Duncan’s intentions had shifted. The drama of his last breakup and the fact he had been in and out of juvie had factored into his brilliant idea to take a cool-down period from dating. But hey, cool-down period over, he wanted to go out with Zoey. 

The only question was if _she_ wanted to go out with _him_. Gah, he’d probably have to drop the ‘juvie bomb’ before they ever became an item. And since he was not in a rush to mention that, he wasn’t in a rush to date Zoey.

Duncan had never taken things slow before. But for Zoey, he was willing to try.

The car ride conversation focused on various hypotheticals: the names of their debut Cloudsound albums, what they’d buy with a million dollars, that sort of junk. Eventually, they reached the fair, hosted several blocks from the school at the local park.

“Hey, Duncan? Can you check the group chat?” Zoey asked as she turned through the gravelly isles of the parking lot.

“You trust me with your phone? That’s a bold move.”

“Why? Obviously you’re not gonna _steal_ it,” Zoey answered. 

“Of course,” Duncan agreed. Yeah, he’d obviously never stolen anything in his life. Right.

After typing in the passcode Zoey dictated, Duncan opened the most recent group chat on Zoey’s phone and scrolled through.

“They’re at the cotton candy station,” he informed her.

“Mmmm, my favorite!” Zoey pulled into an empty parking spot.

“Guess your friends know you pretty well, huh?” Duncan said dryly. Would he ever get to know her that well?

Zoey took her phone back from Duncan. “Brick does, at least. I only started talking to Jo last year.”

That left Duncan wondering how close Zoey and this Brick kid were. He liked to think he wasn’t the jealous type—no, that had been the CIT’s job—but still, he was curious. 

They paid for tickets at the entrance booth, then Zoey led the way to the cotton candy station.

Duncan had been expecting some indie kids, maybe sporting pixie cuts in a variety of bright colors. Instead, Zoey brought him over to a hoodie-clad blonde and an army kid with a crew cut. 

Also, they were holding hands.

 _Bruh_. The cogs turned in Duncan’s mind. _Is this a double date_? So much for taking it slow.

“Looks like someone missed the exit to the rehab center,” the blonde said snidely, eyeing his piercings.

Duncan didn’t miss a beat. “Nice prison sweats. Steal them yourself?”

“I wear them better than _you_ ever could.”

Ouch. That one had hit a little too close to home. “Are you always this snippy?”

Jo smiled. “Only on my good days.”

“Respect.” Duncan dipped his head, then turned to Crew Cut. “So you must be Brick.”

“Affirmative!” Brick extended a hand, and Duncan shook it. “Nice to meet you, sir. Any friend of Zoey’s is a friend of mine.”

“I dig the getup, dude. When I was younger I wanted to join the army.” That dream had been dashed freshman year. Thanks, juvie record.

Zoey piped up. “Now that you’ve all met, where are we headed first?”

“Skee ball,” Duncan and Jo suggested in unison. Duncan tossed a grin in her direction. He was starting to warm up to Zoey’s friends.

“Skee ball it is!” Zoey declared.

As the group navigated the rows of games, booths, and rides, Brick offered a warning to Duncan. “Be prepared for defeat, soldier. Two years ago Jo set the top skee ball record, and nobody’s beaten it since.”

“I've also set the records for bean bag tossing and apple bobbing,” Jo added, grinning. “Would’ve gotten an even better apple bobbing record last year if not for Miss 9-1-1 over here.” She shot a look at Zoey.

Duncan looked at Zoey, who huffed indignantly. It was pretty cute.

“You hadn’t surfaced in a while!” Zoey shot back. “I thought you were drowning!”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Zo,” Duncan teased. “It’s sweet you care so much about your friends.”

“I agree whole-heartedly.” Brick flashed a thumbs-up to Zoey.

“Just hope you’ll do the same for me if I ever land in hot water,” Duncan said, gently jostling her with his shoulder.

“Only if the situation calls for it,” Zoey promised.

The group handed their tickets to the attendant and lined up at four of the skee ball station’s five lanes. Duncan, sandwiched between Jo and Zoey, picked up his first ball.

“How many shots do I get?”

The three veterans answered in unison. “Five.”

By the time Duncan had rolled his first throw, Jo had already sunk three perfect 100-point shots back-to-back. Brick’s first throw was decent enough, then he completely missed the following two. Zoey threw carefully, while Duncan threw fastballs.

“Lookin’ good, Red,” Duncan commented as she sank a ball into the second-highest-scoring hole. Zoey’s score shot up another fifty points.

“Not so bad yourself.” Zoey gestured to his own point total. Though neither score was as impressive as Jo’s, they were pretty much neck-and-neck.

Duncan was about to roll his last ball when a well-toned boy in a blue jersey sauntered up to the group.

“Sha-dang! What’s up here?”

“Jockstrap!” Jo cried, slapping him heartily on the back. “I was wondering when you were gonna show your sorry face around here.”

“Sorry, who’re you?” Duncan asked, noting how Zoey’s expression had darkened considerably.

“The name’s Lightning, MVP of the football team.” Lightning nodded in Duncan’s direction. “‘Sup, Mohawk Dude?”

“Uh…” was all Duncan could say.

Lightning tossed a ticket in the clerk’s direction. “Hey man, Lightning wants to play!”

“You good, Zo?” Duncan whispered as Lightning lined up beside her. “You look like you wanna punch this guy.”

“He’s just a meathead,” Zoey muttered back. “I can’t stand his type.”

 _His type_ , Duncan thought. _Add that to the list of people Zoey hates, along with hockey thugs and juvie rejects_.

“Well, I’ll punch his lights out if you want,” he offered.

“Nah, that’s Jo’s job.”

Duncan genuinely could not tell if Zoey was joking or not. But either way, if Zoey had beef with this guy, he felt it was his duty to distract her.

“Hey.” He held up his final skee ball. “Let’s toss at the same time and see who does better.”

“You’re on!”

They tensed, both eying the holes in front of them, and on the count of three tossed them up the ramp. Both skee balls ended up in the 50-point holes.

“Nice!” Zoey cheered. Does that mean we’re equally good?”

“More like equally bad!” Lightning chortled. He tossed his ball into the 100-point hole. “Sha-score!”

If the insult had come from Jo, Duncan would’ve smirked. But since its source was a guy who Zoey apparently couldn’t stand, Duncan glowered. 

“That’s nothing to write home about,” Duncan snapped. “Get lost, bro.”

“Sha-please, no one tells Lightning to get lost,” Lightning insisted.

“Alright, men, let’s not do anything we’ll regret.” Brick walked over and stepped in between them. Jo looked on, mildly amused.

“I’m not gonna do anything,” Duncan said, keeping his steely gaze trained on Lightning. “This bozo just needs to get out of my sight.”

“Lightning ain’t a bozo.” Lightning flexed his biceps. “Could a bozo do _this_?”

“Yes,” Jo supplied snarkily.

“Jo and I will catch up with you later,” Brick told Lightning. “Look over there! I’m pretty sure there’s no line for the high striker right now.”

“Really?” Lightning’s focus shifted immediately. “See ya later, dudes!” He dashed off to test his strength.

“That guy has some screws loose,” Duncan remarked.

“Lightning’s harmless,” Jo said. “An self-absorbed _idiot_ , yes, but harmless. Anyways, now that I beat the crud out of you all”—she held up her prize, a stuffed snake—“let’s go find something else I can win.”

They took off in another direction.

“That was a close call,” Zoey said, brushing against Duncan as they walked.

“I’ll say.”

“I mean, you wouldn’t actually beat him up, right?” Zoey rolled her eyes.

“Nah.” It pained him to admit it, but Duncan had definitely not wanted to brawl. Maybe last year he would’ve jumped at the chance to garner some clout, bolster his bad-boy reputation. This year? No way was he gonna fistfight a random junior in front of the girl he liked. 

“Good,” Zoey said, smiling. “Fights in action movies are one thing, but fights in real life are _totally_ tacky.”

Well if he ever did get around to telling her about juvie, Duncan would be sure to omit the parts where he fistfought the other inmates.


	3. Part III

They had just walked past the ring toss booth when a gaggle of middle schoolers passed by, all holding caramel apples. One at the fringe of the group tripped and stumbled forward. Although he regained his balance, the apple slipped from his hands and fell onto the ground.

Zoey and Brick gasped sympathetically.

Jo and Duncan, meanwhile, started laughing immediately.

“Duncan!” Zoey scolded at the same time Brick said, “Jo!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Duncan apologized between chuckles.

“Look at his _face_ ,” Jo added. Admittedly, the kid’s about-to-cry expression would no doubt have landed him in a ‘Top Five Epic Fails’ video if someone had been filming.

“We should buy him a new one,” Brick suggested.

“Is that really necessary?” Jo asked. “It’s not any of our business if the kid is clumsy.”

“A good deed a day keeps the doctor away!”

“Yeah, but it’s kinda weird if you just go up to a kid and offer to buy him an apple,” Duncan pointed out. “Stranger danger, y’know?”

“I’ll go with him,” Zoey volunteered, raising her hand. “It’s less weird if two people go than just one.”

Jo rolled her eyes. “Aw, whatever. I’m not gonna stop you guys.”

Zoey and Brick left Duncan and Jo waiting by the ring toss and approached the middle schooler, who introduced himself as Junior. The kid’s willingness to let two strangers buy him a free treat only slightly unnerved Zoey. But since she knew Brick and herself had only the best intentions, she spared Junior a lecture on ‘stranger danger,’ as Duncan had put it.

The caramel apple stand was two rows down. Zoey, Brick, and their tween beneficiary joined the back of the small line. There was a second reason she had offered to go with Brick, and Zoey had to pursue it, despite the fact there was a middle schooler right next to her who would overhear the entire conversation. 

“What do you think of Duncan so far?” Zoey asked. Yeah, that was the second reason: she wanted her friend’s opinion on her friend-slash-possible-date.

Brick thought a moment before answering. “Duncan seems like a respectable fellow.”

“You really think so?”

The line shuffled forward; they were next in line. “Sure. at the very least, he gets along with Jo, and you know how hard it is to get into her good graces.”

Zoey nodded. After she had first met Jo, five months passed before Jo deigned to address Zoey by her actual name instead of a sardonic nickname. “You have a point.”

“Why’d you ask, soldier?”

“I think I like him?” Her voice lilted nervously. “It’s been a while since a boy has actually caught my interest. Does it look like I like Duncan to you?”

“Aside from the fact you just requested my opinion on Duncan, you mentioned him at least five separate times during lunch yesterday. So I’ll answer to the affirmative.”

The vendor waved them up. Brick ordered two caramel apples, paid, and they stepped out of line after receiving the treats. He handed the first one to the Junior, who thanked them profusely and bounded off to rejoin his friends.

“Okay, but Brick, what do I _do_ about it?” Zoey fretted as they walked back down the rows of carnival games.

“Um, express your interest?”

Zoey tugged on a pigtail. “Says the guy who didn’t say anything to Jo for literally half a year.”

“Hey!” He swatted her. “She’s different. Duncan agreed to hang out with us tonight, correct? Then he most likely won’t be off-put if you admit you like him.”

“Yeah, but what if he says no? That would make ceramics class _so_ awkward.”

“You can still continue to be friends, right?”

It sounded easy in theory, but who knew how a post-rejection friendship would work out in reality?

Zoey sighed. “I’ll take your word for it.”

When they returned from the caramel apple stand, Jo and Duncan were engrossed in a thumb wrestling competition. Brick waved the last apple in front of Jo’s face. 

“Heck yeah!” Jo grinned. The momentary distraction was enough for Duncan to overtake Jo and win the thumb wrestling.

“Who’s the champion? I’m the champion!” Duncan flexed his muscles. It was such a Lightning thing to do, but the crooked grin on his face reassured Zoey he was joking around.

“Not fair. I demand a rematch.” Jo bit into her candy apple and laced her free hand in Brick’s. Zoey suppressed a ‘d’awwww’—Jo would’ve maimed her—and instead glanced over at Duncan. He nodded at her, grinning.

“Alright, soldiers. Where to next?” While Brick was speaking, Zoey noticed a pair of teens approaching from behind Duncan: a sturdy Black boy wearing an olive green shirt, and a short Latina girl wearing a sour expression.

“Yo, Duncan, is that you?” the guy asked, tapping Duncan on the shoulder.

Duncan shifted to face the newcomer, and an array of emotions danced across his face: surprise, delight, shock, annoyance, and even… fear?

“Hey, Deej. Long time, no see.” The boys performed an elaborate handshake.

“Can’t believe you remember that,” said the green shirt boy—Deej, was it?

“Yeah, me neither. It’s been so long, but it’s still muscle memory.” Duncan elbowed him.

Jo coughed pointedly; Zoey tilted her head curiously. Duncan’s eyebrow shot up.

“Uh, guys, these are some peeps from my old school. Meet DJ and... Courtney.” His voice faltered on her name.

Zoey waved cordially. “Nice to meet you all! I’m Zoey, and these are my friends Brick and Jo.”

“Salutations.”

“‘Sup, loser friends of Duncan.”

Courtney spoke for the first time. “I’m not his _friend_ ,” she sniffed. 

Zoey bit her lip. “Oh. Enemies, then?” She meant it as a light-hearted joke, but Courtney just glowered.

Duncan coughed. “We, ah, have a history.”

Only then did Zoey catch on. “You guys used to date?”

“Unfortunately.” Courtney primly folded her arms.

DJ, Brick, and Jo appeared to be varying degrees of uncomfortable. Zoey, meanwhile, was trying to picture uptight Courtney and horror-loving Duncan in a relationship. She couldn’t, really, but hey, stranger things had happened.

“So, why are you guys here?” Duncan changed the topic. “Last I checked, we don’t go to the same school anymore.”

“A friend of a friend of a friend invited us,” Courtney said dismissively.

“Which friend?” Zoey asked, trying her best to maintain her friendliness. “Maybe I know them.”

Courtney shot her a ‘you must be joking’ look. “I highly doubt it.”

Zoey shrunk a little bit. _It’s fine. Not everyone has to like you_. But the obvious rejection still stung.

“Well, how ya been, man?” DJ asked Duncan. “I don’t think we’ve talked since that last juvie stint of yours.”

_Juvie stint._

Duncan bit his lip, an ‘oh shoot’ expression on his face. Jo looked on gleefully; Brick’s brow rose. Poor DJ didn’t realize his blunder.

Zoey was quicker on the uptake this time. 

“Wait, you were in _juvie_?” she asked.

“Uh…” Duncan drew out the syllable.

“Oh, you didn’t know?” That was Courtney. “Did he not tell you?”

“Well, y’know, it’s not something I go around broadcasting to every person I meet,” Duncan said, glancing between his ex and Zoey.

“You broadcast it pretty loud to me when _I_ met you.”

“Well, things change, Courtney.”

“So when were you gonna tell her, Duncan? Or were you gonna lead on another poor, innocent girl?”

“Whaddaya mean by _another_? Sister, you were anything _but_ poor and innocent.”

While they were having their spat, Zoey was running through her memories of the past month. Not liking what she recalled, her frown only deepened.

“Zoey?” Brick asked cautiously, recognizing the distress on her face. 

She didn’t want to stand there while Duncan and Courtney yelled at each other. She wanted— _needed_ to sit down and think for a moment. “I need to go. Go do something. Um, I’ll see you guys later.”

That snapped Duncan out of his argument. “Zoey, wait a minute. I can—”

“Don’t!” she said, backing up a moment. “I really have to go. Stay here and talk to your friends, _please_.”

Then she turned on her heel and ran. It was unsightly, but Zoey hustled through the crowds, retracing her steps until she reached the cotton candy booth. She sat down at one of the tables beside the fence. Finally alone, she could think.

One memory, in particular, stood out to her. The first time they’d spent time together outside of school.

_What kind of deviant actually lands themself in juvie? Like, get a hobby._

“Did I really say that to him?” Zoey hissed, burying her head in her hands. “I’m such a _fool_.”

“Zoey!”

She peeked up. Brick approached, followed by Jo.

“Guys, I said I wanted to be alone.”

“Pfft, no you didn’t,” Jo quipped, definitely not helping the situation. “You said you needed to go do something, which was a dumb excuse, so we followed you.”

“Are you okay?” Brick asked with chivalrous concern.

Zoey huffed. “Of course I’m not okay! I’ve always maintained that juvie kids are bottom of the barrel, total rejects. I’ve said that to Duncan’s face, and then I find out he’s one of them?”

“You're so naive,” Jo scoffed. “One look at the guy and even I knew he’d _obviously_ been to juvie.”

“Jo!” Zoey wailed. “Why didn’t you _say_ something earlier?”

“‘Cause I didn’t know it was a dealbreaker for you. And if I had, I would’ve kept my trap shut anyways, just to watch the drama unfold.” Jo cackled. “Ow!” She rubbed her arm where Brick had just elbowed her.

“Can’t you at least pretend to be sympathetic?” he chastised, unamused.

“Ugh.” She slugged him in the shoulder before sitting down next to Zoey. “Listen, Zoey. So what if you hate criminals? Just get over it.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“I mean, you got over your hatred for athletes when we became, uh, acquaintances.”

Zoey raised an eyebrow, and Jo sighed. “Fine. When we became _friends_.”

“But you’re different!” Zoey protested. The division between Jo and her average jock was dramatically obvious to her. “You actually have a brain, unlike Lightning or any other meathead on the football team.”

“While it _is_ true I am objectively superior to Lightning, you’re still being an idiot, Flower Power.”

Zoey’s lip trembled. _Don’t cry, Zoey. Jo will never let you hear the end of it_.

“Jo.” Brick looked at her over Zoey’s shoulder. Something about his tone made Jo sigh and change tactics.

“Forget the idiot comment. Here’s your problem, Zoey. You stereotype. You assumed all juvie kids could be nothing but trouble, so you didn’t recognize the kinda-decent juvie kid that waltzed into your classroom.”

“I guess it’s a bad habit,” Zoey mumbled.

“It’s alright. We all have our flaws,” Brick reassured her.

“Not me,” Jo muttered. “But anyways, can you go forgive Duncan for being less-than-perfect? He’s cool, I wanna invite him to join my hypothetical biker gang.”

“Oh no, I’m not upset with Duncan for not mentioning it.” Zoey stared at her hands. “I’m upset with myself. I dropped _so_ many judgemental comments in front of him. How can I blame him for not telling me?”

“I’m sure he’ll accept any olive branch you offer him.” Brick smiled. “If I stopped talking to Jo every time she made a judgemental comment, we wouldn’t be dating.”

Jo reached across Zoey and pushed him over. “Don’t even go there, Brick-for-brains.”

Their antics elicited a small smile on Zoey’s face. “Okay, so I just go find him and say sorry, right? All cool. No chance of him yelling in my face.”

“None at all,” Brick responded from the ground, even though that was obviously not true. “You’ve created an excellent battle strategy.”

Jo stood up. “Hey, can we go get ice cream while Zoey throws herself at Duncan’s feet?”

Brick looked at Zoey. “Do you need reinforcements?”

“No.” Zoey shook her head. “I think this is something that needs to be kinda private, anyways.”

“Aw, Little Red’s all grown up,” Jo cooed with benign sarcasm. She flicked Zoey’s shoulder. “Just remember that going to juvie for attempted homicide is a lot different than going to juvie for graffiting a daycare.”

Zoey tugged her pigtail. “Noted.”

* * *

Courtney had abandoned their dispute in favor of purchasing a new snow cone. And since Jo and Brick had gone in search of Zoey, Duncan was alone with his old pal. 

Arms crossed, he drummed his fingers on biceps. DJ paced in front of him.

“I wouldn't have brought Courtney along if I had known you’d be here with a new girlfriend.”

“Zoey and I are not dating,” Duncan said shortly. “We were friends, and—” He hesitated. “I dunno, maybe we could’ve turned into something _more_ if you hadn’t dropped the juvie line.”

“I’m sorry!” DJ’s voice cracked.

Duncan stifled a groan. Despite the fact they’d fallen out of touch, DJ was the last person on earth he wanted to upset—well, second-to-last person, now, but he’d already royally screwed up with the other person, so.

“Whatever, dude.” Duncan patted DJ’s bulky back. “If she’s too straight-laced to hang around with a criminal, well—I know how that story goes.” The nonchalant words were mostly for DJ’s benefit, as they did nothing to make Duncan himself feel better.

“Are you sure, bro?” DJ scratched his sideburns.

“Take my word for it.” Duncan glanced at the direction in which Zoey had left. “Nothing’s your fault, dude.”

“Okay.” 

Unease lingered on DJ’s face, so Duncan changed the course of conversation.

“You and Courtney, then?”

“I’m not movin’ in on your ex-girlfriend, I swear!” DJ said hastily. “We’re just friends!”

“Chill, Deej, I believe you.” Duncan exhaled. “Doesn’t matter to me, anyways. You saw how she ripped into me practically on sight.”

“And I’ll do it again.” Courtney reappeared in his peripheral vision. She bit into her cherry snow cone. “You never change, Duncan.”

“Get lost, Pri—Courtney.” That nickname was dead, gone, and buried.

“C’mon, Courtney, let’s go find Lightning.” DJ placed a gentle hand on his friend’s shoulder and steered her away.

“Ugh, fine.” Courtney shot one final withering glare at Duncan before turning her back on him. DJ mimed a ‘call you later’ motion at Duncan, waved a final farewell, and walked off with Courtney.

Duncan’s brow twisted itself in knots. Wait, Courtney and DJ’s ‘friend of a friend’ was _Lightning_? How the heck did _that_ happen? What a small world.

Well, now what? His ride home had disappeared, and he still had several tickets to spend.

 _Don’t sweat it_ , he told himself, though he couldn’t help sweating it. _You’ve survived worse than a spurned not-quite-lover._

When he looked around, trying to decide in which direction to go next, Duncan’s gaze found itself on the girl of the hour herself, standing awkwardly a few feet away. 

Zoey had returned.

“Duncan?” In her mouth, his name lilted into a question.

“Hey, Red.” Duncan forced himself to smile nonchalantly. “Didn’t think I’d be seeing you for a while. Where’s your entourage?”

“Who?” She blinked.

“Brick and Jo?” he clarified, crossing his arms.

“Oh, duh. Sorry. Jo dragged Brick off to get some ice cream while I came back here.”

“Alright.” Duncan figured he should explain himself. “So listen—”

“Wait, can I talk first?” Zoey interrupted. She winced. “Sorry, but I definitely think I’m in the wrong here.”

“ _Really_?” He hadn’t been expecting that. Granted, Duncan hadn’t been expecting anything in particular, but definitely not that.

“I had to go clear my head because I realized—” Zoey swallowed. “I realized that I’ve said a lot of hurtful stuff in front of you. And I didn’t know it.”

“I wouldn’t call it ‘a lot,’” Duncan answered. “It’s not like you were constantly ragging on us delinquents like my uncle does.”

“You know what I’m talking about, though.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

“I’m sorry for that. I made a lot of assumptions and generalizations.” Duncan was pretty sure she’d practiced this speech on the way over. “I totally get why you didn’t tell me you have a juvie record.”

He uncrossed his arms. “Don’t beat yourself up, Red. Even if you hadn’t said that junk, I wouldn’t’ve told you immediately. Like I told Courtney, it’s not something I go around flaunting. I mean maybe last year, I would’ve,” he added, realizing too late he was going on a tangent, “but I’ve kinda gotten sick of it. The food there _reeks_.”

Zoey laughed nervously. “So you’re not mad at me? Are we good?” 

“I have handled _way_ worse than ‘juvie reject.’” Duncan glanced at the direction in which Courtney had left. “I’m willing to let it go if you’re willing.”

“Cool.” A smile returned to Zoey’s face. “Wait, what did you go in for?” 

Duncan stiffened involuntarily. He had never even told Courtney or DJ his full list of charges.

She must’ve noticed the change in his demeanor, because Zoey hastened to add, “Uh, if you don’t want to tell me yet, that’s cool. As long as you haven’t murdered anyone.”

“I can promise you, I didn’t kill anyone,” Duncan assured her, stepping closer.

“Alright, good. I was worried I’d have to stop talking to you ‘cause you killed someone.”

“I like to watch murder, not commit it.” On impulse, Duncan offered an arm to Zoey. “Speaking of which, do you think anyone’ll die in _Alien Chunks_?”

Zoey linked her arm in his. “Haven’t you seen the movie before?”

“Yeah, I just wanna hear your predictions.”

They continued through the fair. Zoey rattled off flimsy predictions for their impending movie. Some were dead on the nose, and Duncan had to fight himself so he wouldn’t spoil it for her.

Ten minutes later, Duncan’s final tickets had been spent on the balloon pop booth. All he had to show for his efforts was a small stuffed piggy. He presented it to Zoey with a dramatic flourish.

“Here you go, Red.”

“Aw, he’s so cute!” Zoey’s ear-to-ear grin was enough for Duncan to admit maybe he had a heart, and maybe that heart was melting. “He looks just like my piggy bank. Minus the mermaid tail.”

“Does he have a name?” Duncan asked cheekily.

“Hmm.” Zoey turned the piggy over, considering it. “I’ll name him Jude Valentino.”

If that was a reference to something, it went over Duncan’s head. “Why Jude Valentino?”

“Because then his initials will be JV. Y’know, sounds like juvie.”

Duncan chuckled. “You certainly have a sense of humor about this.”

“Hey dweebs!” Through the crowds sliced Jo’s commanding voice. 

“Yo, I draw the line at being called a dweeb,” Duncan answered as Jo and Brick approached them. They held matching pistachio cones, and Jo’s snake plushie wrapped around her neck.

“How does ‘dork’ sound?” Jo snarked.

“Even worse. Speaking of which—” Duncan looked over at Brick. The ice cream smeared all over his face definitely made him look like a dork.

“Shh,” Jo whispered conspiratorially. “Don’t tell him.”

Brick furrowed his brow. “Tell me what?”

Zoey giggled. “Don’t worry about it.”

The quartet hung out for another half hour before Jo decided to track down and harass Lightning. Brick followed her, of course. After stopping to buy cotton candy, Zoey and Duncan headed out for their movie showing.

“Hey.” Zoey passed JV to Duncan while she fished her keys out of her pockets. “You’re not gonna get thrown back in juvie anytime soon, right?”

“Would you be sad if I did?” Duncan teased.

“Of course! I mean, I don’t know if this was obvious, but…” Her fingers froze on the keys. “I like you, Duncan.”

Dang. It’d been so long since he’d last said those words. “I like you too, Red. And to answer your question: nah.”

“Nah?” Zoey repeated.

Duncan smiled at her. “Now that i know at least _someone_ cares, I’ll stick around for a while.”

Her cheeks colored. “That’s good to hear.”

The car roared to life. Duncan glanced down at JV and smiled. Yeah, he wouldn’t go back any time soon—he’d make sure of it. For Zoey’s sake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Doey has become one of my guilty pleasure ships. Ultimately I think in canon they'd just be really good friends, but I dunno, they look cute together. And thus I wrote this, for several reasons: 1) there's like three Doey stories in existence, 2) I wanted to explore one of Zoey's more negative character traits: her quick judgment. Also, we were robbed of a Jo/Duncan friendship in All Stars, robbed of a Brick/Zoey friendship in Revenge, and overall I think Jo and Brick parallel Zoey and Duncan to some extent, and that's why I put them in there.


End file.
